U14 B championship
NOF 3-09
The Banner 3-05
By Colm Liddy
Is there any win more satisfying than when your team is pushed to the limits and still comes out on top? When timber is broken, your defence weather huge pressure and your attack make the most of what they get? On a wet and windy Friday evening our Under 14 team delivered their best performance of the year so far.
In the first half The Banner dominated both possession and territory yet our defence worked like Trojans. Adam Enright put his body where it hurts, to stop a certain goal while Evan Morrissey made some timely interceptions. Dylan Crowe and Brian Morrissey put in the hard tackles against a pretty decent Banner full forward line and drove out with the ball time and again. Aaron Moroney kept his man quiet while it seemed that Sol Frost and Brian Molloy were everywhere, minding their own patch and arriving to help out others.
For all their dominance the Banner scored just 4 points, two from play. That defensive effort was our platform to go on and win. Meanwhile we were only in The Banner half perhaps four times in the 30 minutes yet managed to spin that into a goal (by Mark Delaney, injured before the game and pretty much on one leg) and two points (Liddy and a quick-wristed effort from Daniel McDarby). We led at the break, with the breeze to come.
Now was the time for our midfield and forward to division to really shine but that script seemed in danger as the Banner #14 scored a fine goal. From Enright’s massive puckout the ball was driven forward by Lochlan Gregson and collected by Seadhna Liddy. He went round (or through) two defenders to strike to the net. From the Banner puckout, Jamie Power won possession, drove in and rattled the rigging once more. Three goals scored in perhaps 90 seconds, crucially we had gotten two.
Michael Costello was roaring into the game at this stage and clipped over a fine point and Lee Cregan followed up with another. The Banner stayed in touch with a pointed free but when Liddy slotted another point after a pinpoint pass from Frost, we seemed comfortable. Goal for the Banner! Delaney wins a free and Liddy converts. Point from play for Power but then another goal (a bit jammy!) for the Banner. Further points from Liddy (free) and Power closed it out.
Central to the victory was the incredible workrate in tracking and tackling of lads all over the field. Corner forwards Seamus Quinn and Lochlan Gregson let nothing out easy, hassling and harrying. McDarby kept carrying it forward. Crowe, Molloy and Frost just got better and better. All of our substitutes bounded on with the energy to make a big contribution, Darragh Jones, Emmet Calvey, Eamonn Cavanagh, Sean Duggan and Hugh O’Grady who was only denied a goal by the Banner goalie’s best save.
NOF: Adam Enright. Evan Morrissey Dylan Crowe Brian Morrissey; Brian Molloy Sol Frost Aaron Moroney; Jamie Power Daniel McDarby; Michael Costello Seadhna Liddy Lee Cregan; Seamus Quinn Mark Delaney Lochlan Gregson. Subs Darragh Jones for e Morrissey (ht) Emmet Calvey for Quinn (35) Hugh O’Grady for Costello (45) Eamonn Cavanagh for Gregson (50) Sean Duggan for Moroney (52) Robert Hanton Eric Ng Conor Crowe